Editing Magahi language (section)

==History==
{{See also|Magadhi Prakrit|Pali|Sadri language}}

The ancestor of Magahi, [[Magadhi Prakrit]], formed in the Indian subcontinent. These regions were part of the ancient kingdom of [[Magadha (Mahajanapada)|Magadha]], the core of which was the area of [[Bihar]] south of the river [[Ganges|Ganga]].

The name ''Magahi'' is directly derived from the word Magadhi.<ref>Jain Dhanesh, [[George Cardona|Cardona George]], ''The Indo-Aryan Languages'', pp449</ref>

The development of the Magahi language into its current form is unknown. However, linguists have concluded that Magahi along with [[Assamese language|Assamese]], [[Bengali language|Bengali]], [[Bhojpuri language|Bhojpuri]], [[Maithili language|Maithili]] and [[Odia language|Odia]] originated from the Magadhi Prakrit during the 8th to 11th centuries. These different, but sister dialects differentiated themselves and took their own course of growth and development. But it is not certain when exactly it took place. It was probably such an unidentified period during which modern Indian languages begin to take modern shape. By the end of the 12th century, the development of [[Middle Indo-Aryan languages#Apabhramsa|Apabhramsa]] reached its climax. [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]], [[Marathi language|Marathi]], Bengali, Bhojpuri, Assamese, Odia, Maithili and other modern languages took definite shape in their literary writings in the beginning of the 14th century. The distinct shape of Magadhi can be seen in the ''Dohakosha'' written by Sarahapa and Kauhapa.

Magadhi had a setback due to the transition period of the Magadha administration.<ref>Maitra Asim, ''Magahi Culture'', Cosmo Publications, New Delhi (1983), pp. 64.</ref> Traditionally, strolling bards recite long epic poems in this dialect, and it was because of this that the word "Magadhi" came to mean "a bard". [[Devanagari]] is the most widely used script in present times, while [[Bengali alphabet|Bengali]] and [[Odia script]]s are also used in some regions and Magahi's old script was Kaithi script.<ref>{{cite book |title=Magahi Folklore and Folk Tales |first=Sheela |last=Verma |publisher=Manohar |date=2008 |page=28 |quote=Hindi is the formal language of the region, used in schools and law courts. Magahi today employs the Devanagari script borrowed directly from Hindi in place of the Kaithi script used earlier. |isbn=9788173048043}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Magahi Folklore and Folk Tales |first=Sheela |last=Verma |publisher=Manohar |date=2008 |pages=31-32 |isbn=9788173048043}}</ref> The pronunciation in Magahi is not as broad as in Maithili and there are a number of verbal forms for each person.<ref name="Maithili and Magahi">{{Cite web|url=http://www.bihar.ws/info/Bihari-Languages/Maithili-and-Magahi.html|title=Maithili and Magahi|access-date=10 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120723144641/http://bihar.ws/info/Bihari-Languages/Maithili-and-Magahi.html|archive-date=23 July 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> Historically, Magahi had no famous written literature. There are many popular songs throughout the area in which the language is spoken, and strolling bards recite various long epic poems which are known more or less over the whole of Northern India. In the Magahi speaking area, folk singers sing a good number of ballads. The introduction of Urdu meant a setback to local languages as its [[Persian alphabet|Persian script]] was alien to local people.

The first success in spreading Hindi occurred in Bihar in 1881, when Hindi displaced [[Urdu]] as the official language of the province. After independence, Hindi was given the sole official status through the Bihar Official Language Act, 1950,<ref>[[Paul Brass|Brass Paul R.]], ''The Politics of India Since Independence'', Cambridge University Press, pp. 183</ref> ignoring the state's own languages.